“Welcome to the Bay” rapper Fijiana was keeping the vibes high during her opening slot for Kehlani’s sold out concert at San Jose City Hall, until she asked a fateful question: “Who’s here for the Super Bowl?”
Crickets.
The Richmond-raised artist’s follow-up question, “Who flew in for the Super Bowl?,” landed with another resounding thud. Clearly the audience of R&B fans and San Francisco 49ers loyalists at the Super Bowl week party on Friday, Feb. 6, simply wanted to party or were still upset about their team getting eliminated by the Seattle Seahawks.
If there was a “Skip Ad” function, fans would be pushing it. For Niner Gang it was like seeing pictures of your ex partying in Ibiza.
Fortunately, San Jose DJ RCADE, Hayward’s Noodles, San Mateo harpist GEO with San Francisco DJ Salenie, Oakland’s Kehlani and others brought Yay Area energy to thousands gathered in downtown San Jose.
The Kehlani concert was the first of two marquee Super Bowl week events for downtown San Jose (electronic DJ Dom Dolla performs Saturday). The sold-out show took up four city blocks. If it wasn’t for the signage splashed on the City Hall rotunda, folks could be forgiven if they forgot there was an actual Super Bowl being played in their backyard.
The show capped a week of growing buzz that built up at different party locations organized by numerous groups like the Mayor’s Office, Team San Jose, San Jose Sports Authority and others under the SJ26 banner. Streets were shut down, tents erected and corn hole games deployed.
Early in the week, a smattering of locals stretched out to enjoy the upgraded experiences. San Jose Jazz parked its traveling boombox stage and set up camp outside Creekside Socials. By Thursday, Feb. 6, the vibes were tremendous with Los Angeles psychedelic cumbia punk group Tropa Magica powering a conga line.
Despite its uptight Silicon Valley image, the South Bay knows how to party – and thanks to an ordinance passed last year, they got a shot of liquid courage. Fans are allowed to drink under the stars at this week’s San Pedro Square SuperFest, though only between 4-10 p.m. and in sanctioned plastic to-go cups. A quick peek after the Kehlani show showed a vibrant, downright pleasant scene, without feeling like Mardi Gras.
San Jose Sports Authority hired longtime San Jose event organizer Fil Maresca to help conceptualize, manage and produce the San Pedro Square Superfest, which has become a central magnet for visiting and local football fans. A 100-yard green turf field currently runs down the center of a street surrounded by bars, restaurants, local vendors, DJs and bands, and fun activations.
Maresca noted they closed the entire block so people could move in a circle and see everything. With no food trucks on the site, visitors patronized local restaurants and watering holes on the street and at the San Pedro Square Market food pavilion.
“For locals, we want them to come to a free event and be proud of their city,” said Maresca. “For out-of-towners, we want to show that they’re welcome, that we have fun and we have free stuff to do.”
Kehlani celebrates her first-ever Grammy wins on Sunday, Feb. 1, in Los Angeles. The Oakland R&B singer performed at a sold-out concert in downtown San Jose on Friday, Feb. 6. (Natasha Campos/Getty Images for Tao)
Kehlani told the crowd she’s grateful that massive events like this draw people to the Bay Area to experience first-hand what makes the region special.
“For so long, only we knew how magical we were,” the recent first-time Grammy winner said. “Then everybody comes here and we’re like ‘Yeah, we’re f-g cool.’ F- yeah!”
For San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, the week was a warm-up for the men’s NCAA March Madness basketball tournament games at SAP Center and the men’s FIFA World Cup at Levi’s Stadium in June. After delivering his 2026 State of the City speech at San Pedro Square on Saturday, Feb. 7, Mahan spoke to the Chronicle about keeping the positive momentum moving forward and the importance of not celebrating too early.
“Our goal this weekend, in addition to putting on a great fan experience, is to learn so that we can continue to improve for March Madness and then through to those six World Cup matches, which for San Jose will probably be larger than Super Bowl,” Mahan said. “Each of those six games will likely bring more people to our hotels in our downtown than even the Super Bowl. So we are in for a historic year in our city. I’m proud as we have visitors as well as our own residents coming downtown and celebrating together.”
When asked if he could ever foresee a time when San Jose didn’t have to share a Super Bowl with San Francisco or Oakland, he spoke about attending the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans and witnessing the strain it placed on the city’s one airport and downtown area. Having three international airports and distinct regions in the Bay Area is a valuable asset, he said.
Todd Inoue is a freelance writer.
This article originally published at Kehlani’s Super Bowl week concert proved San Jose knows how to party.